Pencil sharpener



United States Patent O 3,221,709 PENCIL SHARPENER Jose A. RacajMontemayor, Cerro dos Conejos, Esq. Con Cerro del Tigre, Coyoacan 21,Mexico Filed May 14, 1964, Ser. No. 367,398 1 Claim. (Cl. 1Z0-93) Thisinvention relates to a pencil Sharpener and more particularly to aSmall, manually operated pocket or desk type pencil Sharpener includinga blade means which is integrally formed within a housing means topreclude disengagement between these elements.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a pencil Sharpenerwhich is Sturdy and durable in construction, reliable and efficient inoperation, and relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture andmaintain.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a pencil Sharpenerhaving a blade means integrally carried by a housing means, noadditional securing means Such as screws or the like being necessary.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a pencilSharpener wherein a blade means is substantially entirely encompassed bythe material forming a housing means to prevent tampering with, orremoval of, the same.

A still further object of the instant invention is the provision of apencil Sharpener wherein a blade means is cast or molded directly withina housing means.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a pencilSharpener having a blade means integrally formed within a housing means,the blade means including portions defining perforations, peripheralrecesses or a combination of the two with a part of the material formingthe housing means passing through the same to securely fix the blademeans to the housing means.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a pencilSharpener wherein the blade means has a cutting edge with a prexedcutting angle which requires no adjustment in use and which cannot bechanged from its original position, thereby preventing damage to theSharpener itself and injury to the user.

Other and further objects reside in the combination of elements,arrangement of parts, and features of construction.

Still other objects Will in part be obvious and in part be pointed outas the description of the invention proceeds and as shown in theaccompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a pencil Sharpener in accordance with theinstant inventive concept;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view therethrough takensubstantially on line 2-2 of FIGURE l looking in the direction of thearrows;

FIGURE 3 is a left hand view of the device as Seen in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a right hand view thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of one form of blade means for use with thepencil Sharpener of the instant invention;

FIGURE 6 is an end View of the blade means of FIG- URE 5; and

FIGURES 7 to 11 are top plan views of modified forms of blade means foruse with the pencil Sharpener of the instant invention.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in general, and more particularly toFIGURES 1 to 6, a pencil Sharpener in accordance with the instantinventive concept is designated generally by the reference numeral 20and cornprises basically a housing means 22 formed of plastic or othersimilar material and including a Substantially conical guide section 24,with a longitudinal portion of the lCe periphery of the guide section 24defining an opening 26, a blade means 28 being carried by the housingmeans 22 with a cutting edge 30 communicating with the opening 26.

'Ihe 'housing means 22 may include oppositely disposed finger engagingportions 32, 34, both ends of a guide Section 24 being open, the cuttingedge 30 of the blade means 28 extending beyond the Smaller end of theguide means 24 and an oiiiset dropped portion 36 being provided belowthis end of the cutting edge 30 to receive lead or graphite dust orshavings to be later disposed of.

The pencil Sharpener 20 is manufactured by casting, injection molding,or otherwise forming the housing means 22, the blade means 28 beingpositioned Within the mold and integrally formed with the housing means22 to preclude the necessity of additional securing means, such asscrews or the like, the remainder of the blade means 22 other than thecutting edge 30 being Substantially encompassed by the material formingthe housing means during the manufacturing procedure whereby it isiixedly maintained therewithin in a predetermined relationship andprotectively covered by the material to preclude access fordisengagement or adjustment, plastic discharge or relief openings beingshown at 38.

To increase the gripping relationship between the housing means 22 andthe blade means, perforations or peripheral recesses may be formed inthe blade means for passage therethrough of a part of the materialforming the housing means during the casting, molding or othermanufacturing operation. One form of such a blade means is Shown inFIGURE 7 at 40 having a cutting edge 42 and a pair of spacedperforations 44.

The embodiment of FIGURE 8 designated generally by the reference numeral46 has a cutting edge 48, a pair of spaced perforations 50 and anarcuate peripheral recess 52.

FIGURE 9 shows another embodiment of blade means 54 having a cuttingedge 56 and a plurality of spaced arcuate recesses 58 along theperipheral edge opposite from the cutting edge 56.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 10 the blade means 60 includes a cuttingedge 62 and a plurality of spaced recesses 64 defined in the peripheraledge opposite the cutting edge 62, each of the recesses 64 includingundercut portions 66 to increase the interlocking engagement between theblade means and the housing means.

Similarly, in the embodiment of FIGURE 11 the blade means 68 includesthe cutting edge 70, the recesses 72 on the peripheral edge opposed tothe cutting edge 70 and the additional recesses 74 on the remainder ofthe peripheral edges, each recess 72, 74 having undercut portions 76,78, respectively.

The use and operation of the pencil Sharpener of the instant inventionwill be apparent. In manufacture, any of the blade means shown inFIGURES 5 through 11, or any other blade means having differently shapedor positioned perforations or peripheral recesses may be iixedly Securedin any conventional manner within the molding `or casting apparatus, theplastic or other material forming the housing means 22 embedding themajor portion of the blade means with the cutting edge communicatingwith the longitudinal opening 26 in the guide section 24 of the housingmeans 22. The forward end of a pencil or the like is inserted into theguide section 24 from the enlarged end of the Same and rotated there-Within, the fingers of the user Supporting the housing means 22 byengaging the portions 32, 34 of the same, the cutting edge of the blademeans shaving the wood and graphite of the pencil to define a pointthereon in a well known manner.

It will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved pencilSharpener which satisfies all the objectives of the instant invention,and others, including many advantages of great practical utility andcommercial importance.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant inventive concept, andsince many modifications may be made of the embodiments hereinbeforeshown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is tobe interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

A pencil Sharpener comprising a unitary assembly formed of a singlepiece of plastic material defining a relatively iiat top wall having anelongated slot extending the full length thereof, a pair of dependingside walls having arcuate finger engaging concavities therein, a firstsolid end wall and a second end wall having a circular pencil receivingopening therein centered beneath said slot, said top, side and end wallsdefining Ia hollow interior having an open bottom, means defining ahollow substantially conical pencil receiving socket extending into saidhollow interior extending from said circular opening, the inner end ofsaid conical socket being open, said slot intersecting References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,050,911 8/1962 Brittingham120-92 X 3,097,629 7/1963 Fleming et al. L20-93 FOREIGN PATENTS 960,7833/1957 Germany. 906,930 9/1962 Great Britain. 251,666 11/ 1947Switzerland.

EUGENE R. CAPGZIO, Primary Examiner.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner.

